Awaiting the Unexpected
by The Final Conduit
Summary: As Layfon looked over his latest mistake, the guilt seemed to eat away at him. He never expected this... he never expected those things to happen that night... but at least he knew he had someone who cared about him in the very least... An alternate turn of events starting from Episode 15. Rated for blood and violence in future chapters. Meishen x Layfon.
1. Remembering

**A/N: Personally, I'm a Layfon x Felli supporter, but I kind of wanted to help this pairing a little.**

**Also, I can't help but somewhat think of how I listened to Breaking Benjamin's "You Fight Me!" as I wrote this… it seems to fit Layfon so well…**

**This takes place in Episode 15, only certain things don't happen.**

He didn't understand this.

He simply let Nina release all of her anger towards him, his stupid mistake going through his mind at a slow rate.

He didn't mean to do it…

He didn't…

Feeling Nina, a girl a few years older than he was with golden hair and azure blue eyes, start hitting him harshly, berating him without even the slightest hint of mercy, he felt the feeling overtake him.

The sudden empty feeling inside him that seemed to eat away at the insides of his body, and even his very soul.

Layfon Alseif, a greenish blue eyed, dark colored brown haired boy of around the age of 15 felt it.

He felt an immense amount of guilt.

Her hits didn't really hurt him at all, but he strangely just wanted to actually feel the pain. Sure he could feel her hits scraping against his skin, but he didn't really feel it at all. Her words were the only things that actually did the damage.

He wanted to redeem himself of this mistake.

So when Nina finally stopped, he left quickly, walking to his room. As he thought of what to do, he changed from his military artist attire, getting into a slightly loose fitted black t-shirt, with regular matching pants. He put his Dite, weapons for Military Artists that could come in many forms, into his pocket.

As a powerful warrior, he felt that he did that out of reflex…

He sighed in a deep pit of despair, remembering his reason for coming to this city.

He glanced at the mirror in the strangely overly large room, walking to it, giving himself a bitter smile.

Thinking back, he thought about the pain he caused two people.

Both Meishen Trinden, a girl with jet black hair and green eyes who was both shy and always seeming very close to tears (and also the person he hurt) and also…

Layfon's bitter smile, as fake as it was, fell into that of a frown.

He looked at the reflection miserably, looking deeply at his own eyes, stepping closer. He remembered the person…

Gahard Baren. Another military artist who tried to blackmail him in the past.

Layfon still regretted, not what he had done, but the things he did that time.

He wished everyone could see it the same way he did… but evidently the world didn't see it that way.

And he also remembered what she had said… the ruler of his home Regios…

He looked down at his hands, sighing softly.

He wished he had never done those things in the past but…

He sighed shortly, slouching himself forward. He whispered, possibly to his own reflection, or probably no one in particular, in a tired, weary voice, "I guess I'll just always be…"

He heard something slipping under his door, and Layfon found a letter at the floor of the door, stopping mid-sentence.

He stared at it for several moments, his mind taking a moment to realize what it probably was.

He walked towards the letter, bending down and picking it up, opening it quickly.

As he read it, he found himself feel a slight glimmer of hope.

A light smile came onto his face, and he walked silently to the new destination he sought out.

He needed to redeem himself of his own mistake after all.

So he didn't mind walking outside that cold, brisk night, the sky, clustered with its countless white dots, watching him from above.

He arrived not too long later to a certain point on a highway structure, seeing the girl with her flowing black hair wear her light blue nightgown with a white jacket to keep her warm, of which came to her elbows, whereas her gown came to her knees.

"Hey Meishen," Layfon called, walking towards her quickly.

She turned around quickly, her face slightly red, "…h-hey Layton," She called him by the pet name she and her childhood friends, Mifi and Naruki, had given him. He had been against them calling him by that nickname at first, but they all seemed set on calling him that, no matter how he tried to protest, and he just gave up trying to change it in the end.

As he recalled this, he looked at her, and the smile that came crawling slowly to his mouth disappeared instantly.

"Meishen…" Layfon began, "I'm sorry about…"

"I-it's no problem Layton," she looked away from him.

"No," Layfon shook his head, "It isn't okay. From now on, I promise to eat all of your food by myself." Layfon gave her a smile, despite the ice like cold biting into his skin, feeling content when he saw the blush rise in her cheeks. Then he realized… "Wait, 'from now on' sounds a bit presumptuous doesn't it…"

"Ah…. Th-thank you Layton…" She gave a smile, but like her sentence, it trailed off somewhere else, her gaze looking away again, and it was obvious that she wanted to say something, but felt a great hesitation to do so.

"…was there something you wanted to tell me?" Layfon's smile visibly dropped into that of a worried one as he tried to help ease her shyness away, letting her come out of her shell a bit more, hoping to help her to become less… shy.

She started shaking her head but stopped mid-action, nodding slowly.

"What would you like to ask?" Layfon smile comfortingly, trying to ease her obvious feelings.

She looked away quickly again while looking down, mumbling something intelligible to herself, pushing her fingers together.

"Mei-chi?" Layfon said slowly, at a cross between trying to physically help her and trying not to frighten her too much. The end result had him with his hands up, as if trying to reach for her, but the hesitation to do so was so great that his hands barely even budged.

"Uh… well… I… I wanted to…" She began pressing her fingers together more forcefully and quickly, then said very quickly (and surprisingly loudly), "I want to know more about your past!"

Layfon's eyes widened for a moment, his nervous expression fading to that of one that was covered by his hair as he looked slightly down, "Why do you want to know that?" He hid his sudden ironic anxiety to get away from the shy girl before very well.

"I… I just wanted to become closer to you…" She began pressing her fingertips together again, earning Layfon's even more surprised gaze, "And I just… felt as though I needed to know your past in order to do that… like why you left Grendan… even when you were a Heaven's Blade Reviever…"

Layfon looked up at her, his blue eyes looking at her in complete surprise, but then he let his surprised expression fade into that of another bitter smile.

He really didn't want to tell her, but considering the situation…

He lightly sighed. It was only fair that he told her.

It was his turn to turn away from Meishen, swallowing the sudden lump that formed in his throat.

"'We mustn't remind people that we military artists are not human,'" He began, looking away sadly, "That was what the queen of Grendan told me before I left. I didn't understand it at the time, but now…" He remembered what he had done to Gahard… the way his heaven's blade dripped with the blood of his opponent… "Heaven's Blades are like monsters, able to use kei to a much higher level than other military artists. As I, one of those monsters acted against the laws set for military artists without even hesitating… If everyone inside of Grendan knew what I had done, there would be widespread panic." Layfon lowered his gaze even more, hanging his head, "So… I was banished from Grendan, with my life being at the queen's mercy." He smiled bitterly again, raising his head slowly and steadily, not stopping until his face pointed up at the sky, with its gleaming crescent moon. "I was, and always will be, a monster. So there's no shame in ever being afraid of me." He closed his eyes, lowering his head again, waiting for her reaction.

Her reaction however, surprised him greatly.

Hands latched onto his shirt, holding him tightly, the owner showing no signs of ever wanting to let go.

"I'm… I'm not afraid!" She yelled, increasing Layfon's surprise ten-fold.

He stared at her, reaching for her despite his Earth Shattering Shock.

Looking at her for a moment that seemed to last longer than it really did, Layfon smiled gently. So she was still with him… even after learning of his fearsome power…

He hugged back quietly, holding her in his embrace.

Then he felt her shivering.

"…you must be cold…" Layfon, now his usual cheerful and optimistic self again, started to guide her away from the garage, never noticing the pink flakes that hovered soundlessly behind them both.

However, a scream filled the area as a loud crash filled their eardrums.

Layfon whipped around, looking upon the highway like structure that was behind them, seeing it begin to collapse.

There wasn't time to think.

He picked up Meishen, and using his Dite, he yelled a command, "Restoration!"

A sword appeared in his hand, and he began running quickly, using his kei (a sort of power among military artists that allowed them to either increase their physical strength, or throw out bursts of energy in many different forms) to increase his speed, slashing and cutting through the now falling debris that continuously fell. Before long, Layfon saw the exit, and he pumped more kei through his body, speeding him up even more.

He barely jumped through the opening before he was crushed inside the remains of the highway.

He put Meishen down, looking her over quickly for injuries. Once he found none, he remembered the scream…!

"Stay here Meishen." He commanded quickly.

Then he spun quickly back around, using his kei to put an extra push into his jump. He flew through the air, then landed on top of where he heard the screams emitting from there. He used his Dite to break apart the debris that kept him from saving them, and as he dug deeper and deeper into the hole, he heard the screams grow louder.

Finally, he slashed through the last piece of debris, revealing a person he didn't know underneath. He picked her up quickly, a flake flying next to his head.

A voice resounded from the flake itself, "_I just alerted the others. Try to hold her until we can get her to the hospital._"

Layfon nodded grimly, turning to already see Nina, two of his other platoon members Sharnid, a typically laid back person who held his hair in a high ponytail, and Harley, the platoon's Dite mechanic, who wore his green hair in a braid that came down to his neck.

He ran to them, hoping to get the girl he found to safety as quickly as possible.

**A/N: Chapter 1 Complete…**

**Any Constructive Criticism is greatly appreciated.**


	2. Comforting

Meishen Trinden sat down in the hospital lobby, her eyes pointed at the floor.

She gazed at the ground for a long time, her eyes stinging as she thought of the damage caused by the collapsing parking garage...

Three people had been located inside the garage debris.

Only two actually made it to the hospital in time.

She stared down at the ground for a long time, the comments of her two best friends not really doing much except for distract her temporarily.

Her mind was on those three people's lives.

If it hadn't been for her...

Layfon walked up to them, wearing his military arts uniform, of which had somewhat of a royal feel to it, and smiled when they looked up to him.

"They'll be fine," he said, the sigh that followed showing his immense relief, "They need some surgery, but after that, they'll pull through just fine."

"That's good to know..." Naruki smiled.

Mifi sighed to herself, hopping up. "So, Layton, how do you think you're going to do in the match against the first platoon?" She spoke, her voice filled with the energy that characterized her.

Layfon didn't realize what she was talking about at first, and his mind buzzed for a moment, then he suddenly remembered. "Oh yeah, I think we'll do well. We've been training so much lately, and our teamwork is getting better."

Layfon couldn't help noticing Meishen's downcast look.

"Uh... Meishen..." The raven haired girl looked up quickly at his voice, eyes wide in surprise.

"Y-Yes Layton?"

"...are you okay?" Layfon hesitated to ask. He didn't want to press too hard if there was something bothering her that she didn't want to talk about, but his caring nature acted against this, making him hesitate.

She looked surprised for another moment, then her eyes fell into a slightly sad one, and she looked down again.

Layfon mentally cringed, his eyes tense with worry.

She probably didn't want to talk about it...

Mifi saw the expression he held, then got an idea, despite the things that happened so recently.

"Hey, Nakki," she looked to the tallest girl in their childhood trio, "Do you want to get a drink?"

She gave her a look as a response, trying to see her eyes to make absolutely sure that she wanted to do what she thought.

She could see the glint in her eyes, and she gave a look of doubt.

They couldn't do that to Meishen, not the way she was now...

Mifi, somehow reading her thoughts without hearing her actually speak, let her eyes flicker to the left twice very quickly, then go back to her, indicating that they would only be around the corner.

Naruki still hesitated, then said, "Okay. Sure," And, to not make it look suspicious, "Would you guys like anything?"

"N-No..." Meishen said quietly, gaze still down on the ground.

"No thank you." Layfon said politely, waving a hand nonchalantly.

They both nodded, almost in perfect unision, and left (little to Layfon's sadly dull knowledge) rather more quickly than needed, and as Meishen noticed this, she actually looked up from the ground, right into his eyes.

There was a moment of silence between the two, neither one not knowing what to say.

"Uh..." Layfon scratched the back of his head, suddenly feeling very uncomfortable, "Could I... sit down?"

Meishen nodded quickly, and Layfon sat next to her.

There was another moment of silence between them, and neither knew what to say.

"...Meishen..." He looked to her slowly, voice again hesitant.

She looked to him, "Y-Yes Layton?"

Layfon hesitated again, "...is there something bothering you?" Meishen's eyes widened, and she shook her head quickly... only to stop herself again, nodding slowly.

Again, he hesitated, not knowing whether he was probing too much, "Did you want to talk about it?"

There was only a silent nod again for a moment, Meishen looking back down to the floor, "I... I think it's... my fault that... that those people weren't... weren't able to get help in time..."

Layfon listened closely.

"And if it weren't for me... then the person who died might have survived if I hadn't been there..."

Layfon gave a look of genuine surprise, "How would that be your fault?"

"...It-It's just... I know you could've saved some of them and not gotten any injured if... if you didn't have to help me..."

Layfon tilted his head, "You care about those people? You feel responsible for their injuries?"

"Y-Yes..."

Layfon blinked, then smiled slowly.

She was just like him... both the him in Grendan and the him of right now. Both caring about people they barely knew. Layfon could remember how in Grendan, when he participated in Underground matches, that his motive wasn't only to help his orphanage, but every single orphan inside of the entire city.

He had known that the thought was extremely naïve. Anyone could tell that much. But he still tried to do it, impossible and stressful as it was...

Layfon looked back at Meishen again, her eyes down once more, and he sighed.

Meishen felt an arm come around her, hand delicately holding her head, pulling her into the owner's chest. "You're such a sweet girl Meishen..." Layfon whispered.

The red slowly rose to her cheeks as she heard his words.

"Y-You're just saying that..." She said quickly.

* * *

Around the corner, Naruki watched silently, while Mifi smiled.

The formerly mentioned girl looked down at her friend, "Do you have any idea what they're saying?" She whispered, despite being almost out of earshot.

"No..." Mifi watched, her smile not dropping, "But we can still watch can't we?"

Nakki stared for a moment, then mentally sighed, looking back at the two they were watching.

* * *

Layfon wrapped his other arm around her, "It's the truth Meishen. You care about people you don't even know. Isn't that what people would consider a sweet person?" He whispered.

Meishen could hear the smile in his voice. Her eyes tensed slightly, then she closed them, the tears coming out like severely thin rivers, "But... but..." she sobbed, finally letting out the tears she had kept in, "If it weren't for me..."

"If it weren't for you, those people might not have made it in time." The smile in his voice disappeared, now with a grim note tinging his voice.

Meishen closed her eyes slightly more, her vision extremely hazy from the tears.

She closed her eyes tightly, but the tears kept falling... no matter what she tried, they just kept falling...

She gave a silent cry, hugging Layfon back tightly.

She gave up holding them in. She gave up trying to keep it all in.

She just let it all out, crying into his shirt, dampening it greatly, Layfon holding her for a kong time.

"I-I... I'm sorry Layton..." she cried, giving a dry hiccup, cupping her hand over her mouth.

Layfon smiled down at her, "Why are you apologizing?"

"I... I just want to be strong like you Layton... so I don't have to rely on Nakki and Mifi... but I guess I..."

"It's alright. We all want to be strong, in one way or another."

"Yeah... but Layfon... I..." She looked up, eyes still spewing out tears.

Layfon wiped a tear away, listening to her words.

"Well..." She looked down, pressing her fingers together again.

Layfon smiled, "It's alright if you don't want to say it. If it's important, I'll be here to listen."

Meishen nodded slowly, "Well... Layton I..." she looked up into his kind blue eyes, lost in them, "I wanted to tell you this for a long time... but I..." She leaned closer to him.

Layfon's mind, slow as ever, didn't register why she could have been coming so close.

* * *

Nakki and Mifi both let their eyes turn wide, leaning almost impossibly foward.

They both thought the same thing:_ Do it... go for it...!_

* * *

"Yes Meishen?" Layfon asked.

Maybe she just wanted to see his eyes, just to make sure that he was being genuine. Tears did tend to mess with a person's vision.

"Layton..."

Closer...

"Layton I..." She could feel his breath, her eyes beginning to close...

Closer...

"Layfon, Kalian wants to speak with you." The emotionless voice spoke, making them look to the owner of the voice, showing a girl who couldn't have been any older than 12, her silver hair reaching her feet. Her eyes were silver, like her hair, and she wore a uniform similar to Layfon's.

Felli Loss.

"Ah..." Layfon nodded, then realized that he and Meishen were still in an embrace, and he realized how this might've looked, "Y-Yes Senior - I mean Felli." He stopped himself, knowing she hated being called that.

Felli gave little sign of emotional response, as she typically did, for as a Nene Operater (Psychokinetics that could use their power to study the environment around them through flakes), she didn't have much choice in the matter.

She only nodded, "I'll take you to him." She walked off without waiting for a response.

Layfon and Meishen looked to each other, and Meishen got off of him quickly, speaking fast, "S-Sorry Layfon! I'm so sorry!"

"You didn't do anything wrong..." An anime sweatdrop appeared on Layfon's head.

"Uh... well..." she looked down, nervous this time instead of sad, and pressed her fingers together again.

"I'll see you later Meishen." Layfon gave a smile, then rose from his seat, finally realizing that the two girls who were gone definitely were gone too long to get drinks.

He turned back to the corner they left from, trying to see if they were there, to which they quickly hid little did he know.

Finding no one, Layfon sighed to himself, convincing himself that he was just overthinking it.

He waved Meishen goodbye, then ran out.

A minute after he left, Meishen looked to see her friends walking to her, Mifi smilng knowingly.

"Someone has their spirits up," Naruki commented with a smile.

She would soon find out that she was going to be barraged with questions by the shorter of her friends.

* * *

Layfon walked with Felli, a silence being between the two of them.

"So Felli," Layfon looked at her, "What did Kalian want?"

"He hasn't said yet." Came her response.

"Oh..."

"You seem close."

"Close? To who?"

"That girl." Felli stopped walking, turning slowly to Layfon.

"Huh? You mean Meishen? No, we're just regular friends."

"So you say. I've never seen friends that close to each other before."

"I was just hugging her Fell-"

He never finished his sentence.

An object was swinging, cutting through the air with its speed, the power behind it so great that it made the very air pale around it, the air density parting with it, helping it gain speed as it raced to its target: Layfon's shin.

It hit perfectly, and Layfon didn't respond in any way in the first split second.

Then-

He gave a scream of pain, one that even made the Leuckens family's strongest attack - Kei Roar - sound like a light drum tap.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!"

* * *

"C'mon Mei-Chi, start talking." Mifi smiled, her voice filled with energy.

"Uh... about what?" She pretended not to know

"About Layton of course," She smiled, the same smile she got whenever she got some very embarrassing - yet very interesting - dirt on a person for her paper.

"Uh..."

"Did you kiss him~?"

Meishen's face suddenly put the sun's heat to shame, "...well..."

Mifi was about to press further when Naruki's fist collided with her skull.

"You're bothering her enough. Let's try going somewhere else now."

Ignoring Mifi's whines and cries, Naruki helped Meishen up, arm around her shoulder, leading her out of the hospital for the day.

* * *

**A/N: I appreciate my one reviewer for... well... reviewing! I hope all the other people who read this review... it often helps me write and update faster.**


	3. Protecting

Ninathaalk looked around her, her sky blue eyes narrowed studiously, taking every inch of her surroundings around her.

The sun showed clearly in the sky, and there was no moisture in the Earth. It wouldn't effect anyone if they ran too quickly.

The stands were packed with people, all cheering wildly. They would have either a lot of support, or a lot of boos.

She scowled.

Layfon had been taken out of the match by the student council president.

It annoyed her greatly as she thought of the suddeness of the "request", but she accepted it.

Layfon had a duty more than anyone else to protect Zuellni.

* * *

Layfon, meanwhile, stood quietly in the train, it's many wheels rolling him away, taking him out of the main city.

Felli had left, telling him that Kalian wanted to see him but would be waiting out of town for him.

"Is it another Contaminoid?" Layfon spoke, his kind look replaced with an all serious one.

"Most likely. I told Nina of the news, and she was somewhat happy about it. She wants to prove that she can help the platoon win a match without your help." Felli's responded, her voice still impossibly devoid of emotion.

"Okay. Tell the platoon I hope that we win without me, okay?" Layfon had left without waiting for a response, as the train that would take him to his destination was right there, making him run for it.

Now he was here, and his mind wasn't on the platoon match, nor the Contaminoids, (beings also known as Filth Monsters that fed off the pollutants corrupting the air and on non polluted people - humans.) Or maybe, not exactly about the Contaminoids.

More on something else...

The train pulled into the station, and Layfon walked, utterly alone in the bunker like building.

"I am very glad you could make it, Layfon."

The voice of that man...

Layfon turned slowly, for the first time to many not showing any type of emotion in response to their greeting, doing his best to hide his immense antipathy for the person before him.

The man himself was tall, lanky, wore something similar to the military arts uniform, only with altered colors, and wore round glasses.

His most prominent feature were his silver eyes and hair.

Kalian Loss - Student Council President and older brother of Felli - wore a smile, one that he knew Felli wouldn't believe in even the slightest way to be real, as he stood in front of Layfon.

"Why did you call me?" His voice would've made Felli proud if she had been emotionless on purpose.

"It is about the Contaminoids," Kalian's smile dropped at Layfon's cagey tone, and he turned to a group walking behind him, the person in the middle making Layfon have to double his effort to hide his strong dislike for him.

He wore a green trench coat, his flaming red hair appearing orange, his eyes a bright teal.

Haia Salinvan Laia.

He had trained under the Salinvan family style of the katana - just like Layfon.

But he was the leader of his gang, dubbed in his family's honor, The Salinvan Mercenary Training Group.

Haia and Layfon had never really had much of a positive experience with each other in the past, and they often fought against each other whenever their paths crossed each other's.

He hoped they wouldn't now though.

"Why are you here Haia?" That hope didn't change the fact he still was somewhat bitter about their past fights.

"These are the ones who helped find the Contaminoids." Kalian explained.

"How?"

"Our Nene operator found them. His vocal chords are shot to hell, so he uses a communicator to speak. He's different than most though. Unlike anyone else, he actually knows the Contaminoids smell."

The man next to him, probably the Nene Operator in question, spoke after that. "Hello. My name is Fellmouse. I feel as though it's an honor to meet you, Wolfstein-dono." He wore a mask with many linings on it, and his voice was deep, almost robotically so, and he had little horizantal slits where his eyes should've been.

Layfon blinked, somewhat surprised at the name, "Uh... just Layfon is fine..."

"We need you to go with them to combat the Contaminoids."

"You said you could track the Contaminoids smell?" Layfon looked at Fellmouse again, face curious, "How is that possible?"

"So long as I walk outside a Regios without any protective equipment on, I am able to sense them."

"Doesn't that... hurt you?"

"Not exactly," Whether his voice was emotionless from the beginning or because of the technology enabling him to speak, Layfon wouldn't know, "I can survive the conditions of the outside world without equipment. And quite possibly, if my body was thoroughly studied... the day humanity is able to roam in the outside world freely might come to pass. However..." Fellmouse slowly reached up, right to his mask. He clutched it between his gloved fingers, and slowly removed it.

There were gasps throughout the room.

Layfon opened his mouth, but no words could come out.

Only Haia and Kalian didn't show any signs of horror or surprise.

"...it would result in all having to look like this." His voice continued, though not through his mouth.

His face was shriveled up, like a cigarette that is sucked dry, his skin black with dirt and pollutants, lines covering his face like trenches, his mouth nothing but a small hole, his hair completely gone.

The only thing that gave anyone the impression that he was really human was his blue eyes, which had yellow where there should've been white.

Fellmouse's body was... like a corpse that long since rotted away...

* * *

Layfon wore a tight fitting suit, his helmet protecting his face from the pollutants that constantly tried to corrode his skin.

He rode with the Salinvan Mercenary Training Group, his mind somewhat elsewhere.

When they arrived at the location, however, Layfon was about to go out when he was stopped by someone.

And that person was Haia.

"Hang on bub," he and Layfon looked at the Contaminoids lying in the trench like plane, "My team'll take half of them. You'll take the other half."

"Yeah, I got it." Layfon started walking forward again, only for Haia to put an arm in front of him.

"Wait, the Contaminoids are asleep now. Let's wait until they're awake to strike. Their shells are usually a little less hard then."

"I don't care either way."

"C'mon bub, lighten up," Layfon could feel Haia smirking at him, "I was looking forward to fighting alongside you, Mr. Former Heaven's Blade."

Layfon scowled back, despite the fact that Haia probably couldn't see it through his helmet.

"Try getting some rest until then. It won't do anyone any good if you're worn out while you fight." Haia walked away then, and Layfon scowled deeper, then looked at the many monsters lying motionless on the ground, seeing that there were 12 in all.

6 for him. 6 for the Salinvan Mercenary Training Group.

Easy in his condition.

Turning away slowly, he walked to his bike, sitting down in it.

As he sat down again, he just then realized that he was exhausted.

Noting this, he sighed, closing his severely heavy eyes and falling into fitless sleep.

* * *

A/N: My apologies for the shorter chapter.


End file.
